The storm that caused so much damage in Texas is still wreaking havoc in the Midwest - causing flooding in the major rivers. These rivers are instrumental in bringing product to port cities so exports are stuck.
From gCaptain:
Floods Choking Everything From Oil to Wheat in U.S. Midwest
The worst flooding across the U.S. Midwest in four years is disrupting everything from oil to agriculture, forcing pipelines, terminals and grain elevators to close and killing off thousands of pigs.
Fifty miles (80 kilometers) of the Illinois River have been closed, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as 81 miles of the Mississippi River in two segments.
The flooding is the worst since May 2011, when rising water on the Mississippi and its tributaries deluged cities, slowed barge traffic and threatened refinery and chemical operations. The current situation increases stockpiles of crude oil and may extend this year’s price slide.
Hog producers in southern Illinois are calling other farmers, hoping to find extra barn space to relocate their pigs, said Jennifer Tirey, executive director of the Illinois Pork Producers Association. Processors are sending additional trucks out to retrieve market-ready pigs, she said. In one case, an overflowing creek took out electricity and made roads impassable, causing 2,000 pigs to drown.
Much more at the site. Like they said, this is not a unique phenomenon, it happened four years ago but still, this will cause a bump in grain prices and a drop in gasoline prices.
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